News and Updates

Best of luck, Sam! You are a dedicated councillor with a strong sense of public service and have done a brilliant job helping to organise the 8Day Weekend & Carnival. You would do Saffron Walden proud as Mayor! #SamForMayor ... See more

'It would be a wonderful opportunity and I am committed to being an enthusiastic and hard working ambassador for the Town,' says Cllr Goddard #SamForMayor

I am very sorry to be away from parliament on my first International Women’s Day as an MP, but due to a family bereavement I will be away until early next week. If you have any issues in the meantime do still contact me on kemi.badenoch.mp@parliament.uk. My office will be dealing with enquiries until I return. ... See more

I am supporting National Apprenticeship Week - a celebration of apprenticeships and the positive impact they have on individuals, businesses, local communities and the wider economy. In the Saffron Walden constituency, there were 680 new apprenticeship starts in 2016/17. This is very good news, and an improvement on previous years. Many people are unaware of degree apprenticeships as an alternative to full-time degrees (they’re much cheaper too!). I’m thinking of hosting an apprenticeships fair if there is enough interest in the constituency. Please get in touch if this is of interest to you, a local school initiative or a young person you know. Let’s encourage even more people like Sarah, who is pictured with me, to choose apprenticeships as a fast-track to a great career. Find out more about the National Apprenticeship Week at: https://www.gov.uk/government/topical-events/national-apprenticeship-week-2018-naw-2018#WorksForMe ... See more

I spoke in the House of Commons on Tuesday the 27th of February about the importance of community transport. Uttlesford Community Travel is at risk of being priced out of the valuable work it does as a charity if proposals to make commercial licenses mandatory for its drivers go ahead. The high training costs involved with getting these licenses would make it too onerous for UCT to continue operating in our district. I have asked the Department for Transport to protect community travel services and volunteers like Ian Shaw and Malcolm Barrell who run Uttlesford Community Travel. You can watch the full speech via the link below. ... See more

Really pleased to see that mental health funding for the Armed Forces will increase to £220 million over the next decade. With a barracks in the constituency I am acutely aware of the impact this will have on our serving men and women. A 24/7 Military Mental Health Helpline - 0800 323 4444 - will also be introduced so that all our courageous troops and their families know where to turn in times of trouble. ... See more

I’m very happy to support World Book Day’s #ShareAStory campaign. It’s not just about mums and dads reading to children, but older siblings, friends and anyone who is close to a young child. We want to encourage reading to children for at least 10 minutes every day. Just as five pieces of fruit and veg a day is good for our health, a daily ten-minute storytelling slot can increase a child's literacy and make reading with children the nation's new habit. Happy World Book Day! Read more about the #ShareAStory campaign at: worldbookday.com/ideas/share-a-story ... See more

Under Key Action 2, funding is available for School Exchange Partnerships and also Strategic Partnerships between other education and training organisations working in the field of school education. For 2018, around €24m is available to UK schools for this activity. This part of Key Action 2 is ma... ... See more

Pleased to see employment numbers staying at near record highs. With a 0.7% unemployment rate, the Saffron Walden constituency stays amongst the areas with the lowest unemployment rates in the country. Fantastic news! ... See more

Severe weather warnings in place for the Saffron Walden constituency. Greater Anglia have announced that trains will stop running at 10pm tonight and passengers have been advised to finish their journeys by 6pm to ensure they get home safely. Only a very limited and slow service will be running tomorrow and Wednesday morning with delays and cancellations possible. Look out for each other, check on any vulnerable people you know and stay safe #HelpYourNeighbour ... See more

It’s not too late to register for Hastoe Housing Association’s Landowners conference event, tomorrow at Chelmsford City Racecourse. On 21st Feb the conference will bring landowners together with legal advisors, planners and housing associations to help boost the much-needed supply of affordable homes in rural areas. I’m very pleased to see Hastoe and other local Housing Associations taking a leading role in ensuring affordable homes are more than just a pipe-dream. Please visit: http://www.hastoe.com/page/1001/Hastoe-launches-Landowner-Conference-Programme.aspx for more information. ... See more

The programme aims to bring landowners together with legal advisors, planners and housing associations to help boost the supply of affordable homes in rural areas.

I was at Great Chesterford Primary school last week, speaking to a hall full of Key Stage 2 pupils aged 7 to 11. They asked some very interesting questions, including how Parliament works and if I had ever met the Queen! Although I still haven’t, I did get to brag about when I met Prince Harry during his visit to the constituency. Surprisingly, most of their questions were on plans to build houses in Great Chesterford, which I suspect is an indicator of what parents in the village are discussing at the dinner table. I was pleased to explain to them why we should not just build houses on abandoned factory sites, or seize homes from people just because they aren’t currently living in them, amongst other things. They were also very concerned about homelessness, which showed how caring they were. I was very impressed by just how enthusiastic, smart and thoughtful the children were. They did their parents and teachers proud! ... See more

We have a special heritage here in Saffron Walden. Not just because we are one of the oldest medieval towns in the country, but also because of the special people who have lived here and helped set up a unique collection for our museum over hundreds of years. I enjoyed learning more about the global nature of the museum’s collection and the restoration work being done with Historic England to ensure that it is around to teach future generations. A very warm thanks to Carolyn Wingfield, Charlotte Pratt, Leah Mellors and everyone from the town team for showing me around the site; for their time; and for sharing their knowledge and expertise. An extra special thanks to Callum Parris who was with me on work experience for taking notes and pictures. I try as much as possible to accommodate local pupils who would like work experience. Places are very high in demand, but open to all. I usually get applications from arts and politics students but welcome those studying STEM subjects as well. ... See more

Despite the freezing cold, Stebbing Parish councillors Sandi Merifield, Christina Cant, Jackie Kingdom, Brian Martin and I went on a tour of the planned West of Braintree development. We also inspected the damaged road by Stebbing culvert where delays to a minor repair have caused the problem to get much worse and much more expensive to fix. A similar situation to what occurred at Cock Lane in Clavering and another long-running issue which I will be bringing up with the Highways Agency. What was clear from speaking with councillors was the real need for key infrastructure like public transport to be delivered, alongside safeguarding local treasures like the ancient woodland around Stebbing Green. This follows on previous discussions about the Easton Park developments. I will be using these examples to inform the next National Planning Policy Framework consultation. It is clear that residents all over the constituency are unhappy with current planning law. I firmly believe that we need to build more houses but it is absolutely critical that required infrastructure comes with the housing being built all over our community and is not considered as an afterthought. ... See more

It was a pleasure to meet Little Canfield Parish councillors Iain Chadwick, Mike Dalton, Jeremy Fulcher and Sarah Warnes to discuss Uttlesford’s application for a waste truck depot in the community. I heard their concerns first-hand about the appropriateness of the chosen site, as well over plans for an industrial site. While I have no direct influence on planning matters, I believe greater care needs to be taken where Uttlesford is both the planning applicant and approval authority. I will be following this up with the District Council in the interests of residents and will also explore possible screening measures, including how we can best protect the Flitch Way. ... See more

Today marks the 100 year anniversary of women getting the right to vote. From women not having a vote, to us becoming legislators and even Prime Minister we have come a long way. But there is still more to do. We need more women in the House of Commons and public life, so if you know a great local campaigner #AskHerToStand. The announcement of a £2.5m grant for projects to boost women's participation in political and public life is exactly the kind of initiative we need to reach new heights, but today I'm proud to be standing with the Prime Minister in a Parliament with more female MPs than ever before #Vote100 ... See more

The House of Commons offers work experience to secondary school students as part of their careers education, with one-week placements available on week commencing 25 June and 02 July respectively. If you're over 14 and up to 18 at the time of the placement, apply before 14th February to avoid missing out. More info at the link below! ... See more

My thanks go to those of you who raised the issue of firework explosions and the effect they have on animals. Dogs in particular can become exceptionally distressed when random explosions go off next door, and it often takes months for them to settle. I love fireworks, but they have spread from traditional celebrations to random parties in quiet neighbourhoods. 'Quiet fireworks', or other forms of controls on private displays, need to be considered. Please read my full speech and the Minister's response here: https://goo.gl/QNZSgy ... See more

Hansard (the Official Report) is the edited verbatim report of proceedings of both the House of Commons and the House of Lords. Daily Debates from Hansard are published on this website the next working day. ... See more

I had the opportunity to ask the Minister at Education Question's this week about the shortfall in young people taking up careers in engineering. With the march of technology and the advent of entire new industries like artificial intelligence and driverless cars, we need engineers now more than ever. Britain is leading the way in these industries but to remain so we are reliant upon our young people taking up the varied opportunities that engineering offers. Apprenticeships are a fantastic, cost-effective way to get into engineering and I was pleased to hear the Minister respond with such strong support, especially for Degree Apprenticeships which will benefit from £10 million of Government investment to develop and refine them further. Watch my question and the Minister’s response in full at: https://goo.gl/FZYxEp ... See more

Fantastic event on Friday to push for more investment in the A120. With a potential for 38,500 new jobs and 51,500 new homes if the necessary improvements are made, it's important we present a strong and united voice to make the case for investment. Find out more at: www.a120.co.uk ... See more

It was a pleasure to visit Writtle University College on Friday to find out more about the fantastic courses on offer and future plans for the 125-year old college. Was fascinating to look round the Titchmarsh Centre for Animal Studies and Canine Therapy Centre and hear more about the new Canine Therapy degree. Such fantastic facilities and another example of our constituency leading the way! ... See more